ACCA launches comprehensive training for Sustainability Reporting

Sustainability reporting is now legally required in Ireland, and it is almost more difficult than financial reporting.

The enabling Statutory Instrument has now been signed by the Minister, bringing the Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive into Irish law.??On a phased basis, nearly every company in Ireland will come in the scope of reporting under European Sustainable Reporting Standards (ESRS),? or one of the three slimmed-down versions of ESRS: ESRS for small listed, voluntary ESRS for SME’s and ESRS for non-EU companies with a large EU presence.

Large companies (listed or unlisted) per the Companies Act are in the next trench of companies coming in scope from 1 January 2025 of compulsory ESRS (the current size criteria can be found here ).? These large companies will be reporting on their supply chain three years later, bringing most SMEs into sustainability reporting.?

IFRS or FRS 102 are post-activity reporting; companies collect financial data after the event and report it; ESRS are different.? ESRS will require that a company develop a sustainability strategy and report on that strategy.? The company will determine the materiality of their impact on climate change, pollution, water and marine resources, biodiversity, resource use, own workforce, workers in the value chain, affected communities, consumers, and users, and their business conduct; set a strategy to minimise these material impacts; set targets and report on the achievement against targets.? The company has to determine their impact based on double materiality.? July 2024 is almost too late for a company in scope from 1 January 2025 to start the process.???

The new CPD series is fully comprehensive coverage of all extent ESRS.? It covers all 84 disclosures and 1,100 data points.? It covers the disclosures that are “should” or “must”, the disclosures that have to have a “why” or “why not” disclosed.? It also covers the process for undertaking a double materiality assessment. The CPD is a tsunami of information, ESRS are not easy; but once purchased the courses can be dipped into multiple times and are conveniently divided into 7 modules for ease of access.?

The course is for accountants working in in-scope companies, staff in audit firms that will be opining on ESRS compliance for their clients in 2026 or assisting their clients to achieve ESRS compliance in 2025.

The 10.5 hours of CPD, which is half the entire annual requirement for an ACCA member, will also count towards the CPD required for existing statutory auditors to be grandfathered into being a licenced Sustainable Assurance Service Providers (SASP).

Register for the Training